Resumen de Commercializing religion via trademarking God
Abstract Religion plays a vital role in the life of people. People are emotionally attached to their religion. But, unfortunately, the devotion and sentiments of people are misused by traders by using the name of God or religious marks as their trademark. Trademark legislations prohibit the use of any such trademark which is likely to hurt the religious sentiments of people. But we can still find a number of goods and services using or registering the religious content as their trademark. Similarly, temples and trusts are commercializing merchandizes by using religious sentiments, symbols, and names. In this study, the researcher will make an attempt to evaluate the issue of the intersection of trademark with religious names and symbols in India in light of section 9(2)(b) of the Indian Trademark Act, 1999. Further, the researcher will analyze the position on the subject matter in different jurisdictions around the world including China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The research paper will also include the judicial precedents to provide more clarity on the current position on the issue of trademarking religious names and symbols along with principles of legal philosophy.
